Data Conference Program

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Conference program

Transcript of Data Conference Program

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Dear Conference Participants:

Welcome to the 12th National Child Welfare Data andTechnology Conference. Whether you have attended the confer-ence before or this is your first time joining us, we believe youwill find presentations with information that will inspire youwith the progress we are collectively making to improve ourday-to-day use of data and transforming the quality of our serv-ices to families and children.

The Conference has a full agenda of presenters from across thecountry. This year, we are pleased to offer a special track specifi-cally designed for our Tribal colleagues, who are taking their useof data to the next level.

New this year is a Social Media Technical Assistance room.During breaks you can drop by and ask questions about how toset up your mobile device for Twitter updates, and learn how toleverage other tools to enhance your conference experience.

Always a favorite item on the agenda is the welcome reception.Be sure to attend and visit with colleagues you haven’t seensince last year. The reception is also a great way to meet newcolleagues that you have only talked to on conference calls. Andof course, the reception is an excellent opportunity to visit themany exhibits that help sponsor the conference.

We conclude Wednesday afternoon with an inspiring presenta-tion by two foster care alumnae. Sometimes federal and stateregulations seem overwhelming and deadlines can add extrapressure, but this closing session is an opportunity to hear howyour efforts make a difference in the lives of the youth we serve.Come applaud their efforts and yours. It is not to be missed!

Again, this conference is a great opportunity for all of us inter-ested in child welfare data to share ideas, news, and recent re-search findings. It is also an opportunity to socialize and interactwith colleagues and friends. It is our goal to make this confer-ence both enjoyable and informative for everyone. Thank youfor coming.

Conference Planning Committee

Committee Members:

Angelina Palmiero *Lynda Arnold *Dottie AnsellDavid BakerPatsy BuidaTelisa BurtStan ChappellLinda CloudEmily CookeValeria FajardoSally FlanzerJohn GaudiosiMark HardinJohn HargroveJohn HendersonJulie HockerMark JazoLeonard JohnsonPam JohnsonRichard LongoriaMiranda LynchMary McKeeBethany MillerSharon Newburg RinnMary Jo OrtizCurtis PorterJennifer RenneMiguel VieyraEileen WestRosalyn WilsonYing-Ying Yuan

* Co-chairs

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Sunday, June 21, 2009NCANDS Advisory Meeting (By Invitation)Congressional Room

Monday, June 22, 2009RegistrationCrystal Ballroom Foyer2:30 P.M.–6:00 P.M.

AFCARS Pre-Conference1:30 P.M.–3:00 P.M.

NCANDS Pre-Conference3:00 P.M.–4:30 P.M.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009 RegistrationCrystal Ballroom Foyer7:00 A.M.–6:00 P.M.

Breakfast at the Exhibit FairWaterford and Lalique Suites7:00 A.M.–8:30 A.M.

Opening Session and KeynoteCrystal Ballroom (Haverford and Baccarat Suites)8:30 A.M.–10:00 A.M.

Session A Workshops10:30 A.M.–NOON

Improving Statewide Dependency Data:Developing JOLTSaz, Arizona’s newjuvenile court tracking systemJudiciary Suite

JOLTSaz is the second incarnation of an automatedsystem for tracking court-involved juveniles inArizona, replacing a 20-year-old legacy application.This workshop will explore the implementation of thisnew statewide tracking system with particular em-phasis on its dependency-related module. Discussionwill cover several challenges, including conceivingand implementing a statewide juvenile identifier,planning for and conducting a large data conversion,and measuring court performance. A demonstrationof the application will conclude the workshop.

Robert Shelley and Amy Stuart (Arizona SupremeCourt) and Steven Chang and Richard Myer (PimaCounty Juvenile Court)

Developing an Organizational Culturefor the Use of Evidence in Child WelfareCartier and Tiffany Salons

The Evidence-Based Management initiative is a jointproject between McGill University and BatshawYouth and Family Centres to try and answer thequestion: How do you know that what you aredoing is what you should be doing? A child welfareknowledge mobilization model was developed thattakes a five-pronged approach to bringing questionsof evidence to the forefront of management andservice delivery decisions.

Lorence Coughlin (Batshaw Youth and Family Centres)and Tonino Esposito (McGill University)

Longitudinal Dynamics of Youthin Foster CareAmbassador Room

Exploiting the longitudinal structure of California’sadministrative child welfare database, we considertwo problems. The first is the absence of a decline inthe youth foster care population despite dramaticdecreases in the general foster care population. Thesecond is the high frequency of placement moves inlate adolescence on the part of youth with earlierstable placement histories.

Joseph Magruder and Emily Putnam-Hornstein(University of California–Berkeley)

The Role of Context in AchievingPermanency/Data Can Make a DifferenceCabinet Suite

The Role of Context in Achieving Permanency:How county, agency, and child factors relate totimely permanency outcomesThis session will present recent research on howchild, agency, and county contextual factors are re-lated to achieving timely permanency outcomes.The research uses multilevel longitudinal methodswith administrative child welfare data from NorthCarolina to assess how these factors are associatedwith time to achieve permanency outcomes of

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reunification, adoption, guardianship/custody, andemancipation. This information can support theestimation of performance measures by subcate-gories of these factors, in order to help identifyareas needing improvement.

Elizabeth Weigensberg (Chapin Hall, University ofChicago)

Data Can Make a Difference: LAYC’soutcomes tracking system for youth inindependent living programsLearn how the Latin American Youth Center’s resi-dential programs for youth utilize innov ative datacollection techniques to inform programmaticdecisions and successfully transition participants toindependent living. Attendees will also learn how toreconceptualize their impressions of outcome meas-urement and evaluation so that they are beneficial toservice providers, government agencies, and funders.

Isaac Castillo (Latin American Youth Center)

Lunch on your own; Exhibit Fair open12:00 P.M.–1:30 P.M.

Session B Workshops1:30 P.M.–3:00 P.M.

Are You Connected? How to create auser-friendly data exchange systembetween child welfare and the courtsJudiciary Suite

This session will outline the process of creatingUtah’s data exchange interface between the Divisionof Child and Family Services and the Juvenile Court.Presenters will provide participants with tools onhow to create a court/child welfare data exchange intheir state. Information will include benefits, lessonslearned, policy and technical implications, and a ba-sic outline for project management. The presenta-tion will be followed by a discussion led by partici-pants. This session will be useful for all, frombeginners to experts.

Misty Butler and Susan Burke (Utah AdministrativeOffice of the Courts) and Doug Call (Utah Division ofChild and Family Services)

Turning the Tide: Using longitudinaldata to understand the flow ofchildren through foster care and itseffects on permanencyCabinet Suite

A longitudinal analysis examined the children in fos-ter care and entering care during a year, and trackedall children for eight full years. The flow of this popula-tion through care and its relationship to key out-comes, such as achieving permanency, was examined.Vastly different outcomes were observed for length oftime in care, achieving permanency, and other exitsfor children already in care versus those entering care,as well as for some ethnic and age groups.

Daniel Webster and Joseph Magruder (University ofCalifornia–Berkeley) and Terry Shaw (Universityof Maryland)

Maximizing the Use of Your Data:Generating specialized and timelyreports for state useAmbassador Room

This workshop is an overview of collaborative effortsbetween National Resource Center Staff and theState of New Mexico regarding the development oftimely reporting tools for AFCARS and NCANDSdata. Subsequent data reports allow managementand workers within the state to have quarterly up-dates on progress made on a number of measuresincluding, but not limited to, Round II CFSR PIPmeasures. Detailed methods, results, and best prac-tice issues are discussed.

Jon Courtney and Retta Prophet (State of New MexicoChildren, Youth, and Families Department) and JeffreyJohnson (NRC-CWDT)

Reducing Racial Disproportionality andDisparities in Child Abuse and NeglectCases: Using data to transform judicialbehavior and reform systemsCartier and Tiffany Salons

In this session, panelists will discuss research cur-rently underway and supported by Casey FamilyPrograms and the Office of Juvenile Justice andDelinquency Prevention to examine both theprocess and outcomes of judicial decision making in

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child abuse and neglect cases with a racial equitylens—how, and at what key decision points, arejudges contributing to or ameliorating racial dispro-portionality and disparate treatment in the depend-ency court system? Participants will learn about thestudy’s findings thus far, including: management in-formation systems’ capacity for generating data onracial disproportionality and disparities; data sharingneeds; data elements and data collection strategiescritical to a full understanding of this issue; and spe-cific strategies used to engage sites in using data totransform behavior and design reforms to reduceracial disproportionality and disparities.

Nancy Miller (National Center on Substance Abuse andChild Welfare) and Richard Wiener (University ofNebraska–Lincoln)

Improving State Data onIndian Child Welfare ServicesDiplomat Room

Most states lack sufficient data to determine theneeds of Native children being served by state pro-grams, to know and evaluate the appropriateness ofservices they are receiving, to identify the outcomesbeing achieved, and to determine compliance withthe federal Indian Child Welfare Act. State ICW man-agers will present uniform ICW data elements which,if included in all state SACWIS systems, would signifi-cantly address this issue. Challenges and require-ments for ICW data will be discussed.

John George (CWLA)

Snack Break at the Exhibit FairWaterford and Lalique Suites3:00 P.M.–3:30 P.M.

Session C Workshops3:30 P.M.–5:00 P.M.

The National Survey of AdoptiveParents: A new research resourceAmbassador Room

The National Survey of Adoptive Parents was con-ducted by the National Center for Health Statisticsand is a rich new source of data regarding families’adoption experiences. This presentation will describe

the survey’s sample and content and procedures foraccessing public use data files. The session is in-tended to make potentially interested researchersand analysts aware of the data and the types ofanalyses for which they can be used. Initial descrip-tive findings about the population of adopted chil-dren in the United States will also be presented.

Laura Radel (Department of Health and HumanServices, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planningand Evaluation) and Matthew Bramlett (Centers forDisease Control and Prevention, National Center forHealth Statistics)

Connecting the Dots: Cross-system datalinkages between substance abuse,child welfare, and courtsJudiciary Suite

Participants in this workshop will gain a basic under-standing of the operational characteristics of thethree systems and their national reporting systems,thereby promoting cross-system collaboration.Participants will be introduced to guidance docu-ments that will assist public agencies and Tribes toidentify how they can use current information sys-tems to measure their progress in improving out-comes for children and families being served by allthree systems. The workshop will illustrate examplesof successful linking of these data systems to meas-ure cross-system outcomes.

Ken DeCerchio and Sharon Boles (National Center onSubstance Abuse and Child Welfare, Children andFamily Futures) and Ed Briggs (Macro International)

SACWIS Gold StarsCartier and Tiffany Salons

SACWIS site visits are not just about SACWIS compli-ance—they are an opportunity for states to show-case innovative solutions and practices—things thatdon’t just look good in theory, but work in day-to-day practice. In this session, members of the Divisionof State Systems will present real-life state examplesof innovative SACWIS practices. These are a few ofthe original designs and approaches we witnessedduring recent site visits and SACWIS Reviews, butcouldn’t include in the reports. Accomplishments inthe areas of promising practices, usability, user com-munity communication, new technology, and data

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exchange will be presented. Come and be inspiredby all the great ideas and ask other states how theydid it. As we cannot cover every “Gold Star” there willbe time at the end for participants to brag abouttheir own SACWIS successes.

David Baker and Kate Hjelm (Children’s BureauDivision of State Systems, Administration forChildren and Families)

Saving Children’s Lives throughCreative Technical Design:The new birth match processCabinet Suite

The Department of Human Services and theDepartment of Information Technology collaboratedto create an award-winning prevention program forinfants born to parents who have a history of se-verely abusing and neglecting their children or whohave had a termination of their parental rights. Thislife-saving prevention program intertwines chil-dren’s protective services policy and data sharing ofvital statistics with creative technology. Since its in-ception, the new Birth Match process has saved anaverage of 35 infants each year as a direct result ofthis mandated reporting process.

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Laurie Johnson (Department of Human Services, Stateof Michigan), Daniel Klodt (Department of InformationTechnology for the State of Michigan), and ShannonStotenbur-Wing (Michigan Public Health Institute)

Welcome Reception in the Exhibit FairWaterford and Lalique Suites5:00 P.M.–7:00 P.M.

Take a minute to let us know youropinions so we can have an even

better conference next year!

You will be sent an e-mail invitation toevaluate the conference and individual

workshops online.

If you want to use this conference forContinuing Education Units, please goto the CEU desk near registration and

complete a paper evaluation.

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Wednesday, June 24, 2009RegistrationCrystal Ballroom Foyer7:00 A.M.–12:00 P.M.

Breakfast at the Exhibit FairWaterford and Lalique Suites7:00 A.M.–8:30 A.M.

Session D Workshops8:30 A.M.–10:00 A.M.

Disproportionality and DisparityAmong Native Americans Diplomat Room

Disproportionality and Disparity Among NativeAmericans in Child Protective Services: Findingsfrom NCANDSUsing NCANDS FFY 2007 data, we will assess racialdisparity at the various decision-making pointswithin the child welfare system, with a focus onNative American populations. A Native Americanrepresentative from the State of Alaska will partici-pate in this panel discussion, providing first-hand in-sight into the disparate treatment of NativeAmericans within child welfare.

Mary Jo Ortiz and Leonard Johnson (Walter R.McDonald and Associates) and Marcus Gho (Office ofChildren’s Services, State of Alaska)

Use of Uniform Disparity Rates toMeasure the Presence of Agency-InducedDisproportionality in the Foster Care SystemThe presentation will feature an analysis of dispro-portionality in the Alaska Foster Care system usinguniform disparity as a unit of measurement. Uniformdisparity allows researchers the ability to distinguishthe presence of disproportionality induced by theagency. Additional measures of disparity will also beobserved as part of the presentation.

Marcus Gho and Ayaire Cantil-Voorhees (Office ofChildren’s Services, State of Alaska)

Performance Based Contracting andQuality Assurance Systems as Drivers ofEvidence-Informed Practice and OutcomeAchievement: Public-private partnershipand innovation in three statesCabinet Suite

This presentation will address the use of perform-ance-based contracts and quality assurance systemsin public-private child welfare partnerships.Representatives from three states will share innova-tive strategies within the out-of-home care servicedelivery system, highlighting how they use data topromote evidence-informed practice. The presenta-tion will provide an overview of the cross-site evalu-ation testing a continuous quality improvement ap-proach to the use of performance based contracts,and practice data to promote organizational, prac-tice, and client outcomes.

Crystal Collins-Camargo (University of Louisville), TeriGarstka (Planning and Learning Technologies, Inc.),David DeStephano (J. K. Elder & Associates), KathleenKearney (University of Illinois) and Paul Sundet(University of Missouri–Columbia)

Child and Family Services ReviewData Compared to the Newly RequiredFederal Reporting on Caseworker Visits Cartier and Tiffany Salons

Beginning in FY 2007, States were required to reportdata to the Federal government on the frequency ofcaseworker visits. Similar data are also collected initems 19 and 20 of the on-site review instrument ofthe Child and Family Services Reviews. The presen-ters will provide an analysis of the data on case-worker visits from both of these sources. For thenewly mandated State reporting, the 2007 data willbe used. The CFSR Round Two data will be used forthose States who have completed their reviews. Howare these data sources the same and how might theybe different? Factors such as the meaning of theterms "caseworker" and "visit" will be addressed. Wewill discuss why the caseworker visits data are im-portant, and ample opportunity will be provided forQ and A and general conversation on this topic.

Sharon Newburg-Rinn and Myrrl McBride (Children’sBureau, Administration for Children and Families)

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Highlights from New Mexico: Bestpractice applications for judges forpacing permanencyJudiciary Suite

This workshop will demonstrate the New Mexico on-line interactive application for judges that collectscourt data and encourages best practice from thebench. The “Judge’s Notes” application is an ad-vanced computer software program that allowsjudges to track currently uncollected data such asthe parties present in the courtroom, status ofincarcerated respondent, and availability of services.The application also prompts judges to make in-quiries regarding existing relatives for placement,Indian Child Welfare Act questions, and other press-ing issues that can delay permanency. The onlineOutcome Measures application will also be pre-sented. New Mexico has developed a sophisticatedsystem to allow judges to access Outcome Measuresat will with features to allow for monitoring untimelycases. Success stories and obstacles of implement-ing these systems statewide will be highlighted.

Sandra Wechsler (New Mexico Court ImprovementProject), Judge John Romero (2nd Judicial District Court),and Trixi Bubemyre (Supreme Court of New Mexico)

Instability in Foster Care:Causes and explanationsAmbassador Room

Take two children who at one point look identical:from the same community, same age, race, and gen-der, same length of time in foster care. However, thenext 18 months prove largely different for these twochildren: ultimately one experiences multiple moveswhile the other is stable. This presentation anddiscussion will focus on what we have learned byfollowing 122 children (61 stable and 61 movers)over 18 months.

Nancy Rolock and Jennifer Eblen Manning (Childrenand Family Research Center, University of Illinois)

Coffee Break at the Exhibit FairWaterford and Lalique Suites10:00 A.M.–10:30 A.M.

Session E Workshops10:30 A.M.–NOON

A Look at the Needs of Adoptionand Guardianship Cabinet Suite

Emerging Issue: What are the needs of familiesafter adoption or guardianship?Entry into foster care has primarily been discussed aschildren entering foster care from the home of theirbiological family. However, recent national trendssuggest that more children may enter care from thehomes of adoptive or guardianship caregivers. It isclear that states will need to expand their focus fromattaining permanence for foster children to main-taining permanence. Results from interviews withcaregivers in Illinois will offer insight into responsivepost- permanence programs.

Nancy Rolock and Leslie Cohen (Children and FamilyResearch Center, University of Illinois)

Are Guardianship Assistance Programs Worth It?What states need to know.With passage of the Fostering Connections Act,states must decide whether to implement aGuardianship Assistance Program. From 1995 to2005 the Department of Health and Human Servicesgranted waivers to states to test whether a guardian-ship program would result in an increase of perma-nence and safety for children, and cost savings tothe states. Results from Illinois, Wisconsin, andTennessee are used to show the utility and potentialimpact of implementing this new program.

Leslie Cohen and Nancy Rolock (Children and FamilyResearch Center, University of Illinois)

The ABCs of Collecting and SharingEducation and Child Welfare Data:A how-to guide for cross-systemscollaborationAmbassador Room

Education is a critical issue for children in fostercare—one that deeply affects their stability, well-be-ing and permanency. Unfortunately, today’s childrenin care are in an educational crisis. National studiesindicate that only one third of children in care grad-uate from high school in four years. Collecting and

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analyzing data at the systemic level and studentlevel is essential to addressing this issue. By collect-ing and sharing education information across sys-tems, we can learn why they are failing and whatneeds to change, and we can also track improve-ments and identify successful interventions and ef-forts. This presentation addresses what educationdata can and should be collected by child welfareagencies; what information education already col-lects; how education data can be used and shared ata statistical and student level to improve outcomes;which laws govern the sharing of information; andhow states and localities are sharing informationacross multiple systems to improve well-being andpermanency outcomes.

Kathleen McNaught (American Bar Association Centeron Children and the Law, Legal Center for Foster Care &Education) Maura McInerney (Education Law Center)

Composites ClinicCartier and Tiffany Salons

Back by popular demand, we will be running a clinicto provide one-on-one technical assistance to runyour individual state’s composite measures. JohnHargrove and Valeria Fajardo of the Children’sBureau Data Team, along with several NRCCWDTstaff, will be providing technical assistance onceagain to answer any and all of your questions. Areyou new to child welfare data and need help under-standing the CFSR syntax and composite spread-sheet? Do you have specific questions about theprocess? Please revisit the clinic and get your ques-tions answered. A signup sheet will be available toreserve your time in advance.

John Hargrove and Valeria Fajardo (Children’s BureauData Team, Administration for Children and Families)

Georgia CollaborationJudiciary Suite

Lessons Learned from 25 Justice for ChildrenSummits: A collaborative project in Georgia usingdata to impact child outcomesThe presentation will demonstrate a collaborationexample between the judicial branch and the execu-tive branch using data and teaching, which has ledto improvements of specific child outcomes by localdecisionmakers.

Beth Locker (Georgia Court Improvement Project),Melissa Carter (Georgia Office of the Child Advocate)and Bobby Cagle (State of Georgia Department ofHuman Resources)

How to Use Child and Family Service Data to LearnAbout Evidence-Based Best PracticesA collaborative presentation about how the CFSR re-sults and process influenced one state to share data,drill down to the CFSR measures at a local level anddevelop a consistent review process and best prac-tice identification.

Steve Reba (Georgia Court Improvement Project) andRobert Grayson (Special Assistant Attorney General)

Lunch on your own; Exhibit Fair open12:00 P.M.–1:30 P.M.

Session F Workshops1:30 P.M.–3:00 P.M.

Creating an Analytical Tool within aCase Managment System: Montana'sapproach to data collection and analysisJudiciary Suite

The purpose of this workshop is to share with theaudience how Montana turned a text-driven, judicialcase information system into an analytical tool. Webegan by identifying the variables needed from theToolkit for Court Performance Measures in ChildAbuse Cases. Then we asked: What reliable data arewe currently capturing? Where are the data gapsand how can we get the information we need with-out spending a lot of money retooling? The systemenhancement that we developed allows us to fulfillthe goals of our data grant.

Kriss Hensley and Sherri Rafter (Montana CourtImprovement Program), and Marty Wangen(Montana Judicial Branch)

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Linking Across Multiple Databaseswith Less-than-Perfect DataCabinet Suite

Administrative data in child welfare often do notcontain information about child well-being.Researchers must tap into other data, such as em-ployment data at the Employment SecurityCommission, to obtain information on long-termoutcomes for children. Other databases on educa-tional attainment and incarceration are also avail-able. In this presentation, we share our experience inlinking across multiple datasets in various studies onchild well-being. We will compare the various link-age methods available, cover how to prepare thedata for linkage, and the details of deterministicrecord linkage method that we use.

Hye-Chung Kum and Dean Duncan (University ofNorth Carolina, Chapel Hill) and Dawn L. Cambridge(North Carolina Division of Social Services)

Making the Most of Your CompositeComputational Spreadsheet:Tools from CaliforniaCartier and Tiffany Salons

The staff at the Child Welfare Performance IndicatorsProject at the University of California–Berkeley andthose at the California Department of Social Serviceshave collaborated to design a number of toolsdrawn from the Composite ComputationalSpreadsheet. These include county-specific esti-mates and two tools to aid child welfare profession-als in making the leap from indicators to composites.

Barbara Needell and Daniel Webster (University ofCalifornia–Berkeley), Deborah Williams and LindaHockman (California Department of Social Services)

Prize Drawing and Snack Break at the Exhibit FairWaterford and Lalique Salons3:00 P.M.–3:30 P.M.

Closing General SessionCrystal Ballroom (Haverford and Baccarat Suites)3:30 P.M.–5:00 P.M.

What Difference Does IT Make Anyway?

Does your job really matter? Can data really make adifference? Why do we collect so much information?Do we really expect any of it to influence policy orpractice? La Terra Cole and Lacy Kendrick are goingto tell you why what you do is so important and in-spire you to try even harder. Ms. Cole and Ms.Kendrick are both shining examples of why yourdata matters, why it is important to get it right. Ms.Cole and Ms. Kendrick are only two examples, butthey represent thousands of youth still in foster care.If you have never met a foster child, or if it has beenyears since you had a caseload, listen to hear theirmessage. You will be surprised at the accomplish-ments they have made. You will return home withrenewed commitment to value your contribution tothe big picture.

We are also encouraging early arrivals to theNational Youth in Transition Database meeting tojoin us for the closing. Their story will be an excellentway to jumpstart your NYTD pursuits on Thursday.

La Terra Cole (Every Child Matters Education Fund) andLacy Kendrick (National Child Welfare Resource Centerfor Youth Development)

Thursday, June 24 andFriday, June 25, 2009National Youth in Transition Database TechnicalAssistance Meeting

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Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Who Are We and Why Are We Here?10:30 A.M.–NOON

This is an opportunity to prepare for the next two days.Introductions will be made to key federal staff, re-source staff, and Tribal representatives. Participants willreceive an overview of the data conference and whycollecting and using data is important. This session willset the stage for the next two days. It will be helpful forall attendees to hear the same basic information priorto the other sessions.

AFCARS: What Is it All About?1:30 P.M.–3:00 P.M.

This session will cover AFCARS from soup to nuts.Collecting AFCARS data is not only essential to IV-Eparticipation; it also provides a very comprehensivecollection of caseload information for those tribes thatare not pursuing IV-E claims. AFCARS data elements,when properly collected, can assist in documentingtrends and future budget needs.

What Systems Are Tribes Using?3:30 P.M.–5:00 P.M.

Peers can be a very valuable resource. Some Tribeshave already developed information systems. If theyhad it to do over, would they do anything differently?What are some of the lessons they have learned? OtherTribes may have decided to share a state informationsystem. Was that the right decision? And for others,maybe these ideas are too much for their small case-loads and limited resources. What is the best approachfor them? Several Tribes will present their views, fol-lowed by an opportunity for discussion and other ap-proaches considered by attendees.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

What Does it Take to Share, Transfer orDevelop an Information System? 8:30 A.M.–10:00 A.M.

This session will be a very basic presentation on what ittakes to develop an information system. How simple orcomplex does a system need to be? What needs to beconsidered before a decision is made to pursue a largeinformation system? What technical assistance re-sources are available?

Now What? Where Do We Go from Here?10:30 A.M.–NOON

Tribal representatives will be divided into two groups:those who want a basic data collection system to meettheir smaller management needs, and those who wantto pursue a more comprehensive system. Technicalassistance will be available to both groups to helpthem decide their next step in the journey. This is alsotime to begin or continue a data collection strategyplan to take home.

Can We Talk? 1:30 P.M.–3:00 P.M.

As the conference comes to a close, this session willreview the objectives of the sessions, and questionsraised during them. Most importantly, it will be an op-portunity for Tribes to share their plans and ask ques-tions of their peers. The format will be open discussion.

Tribal AgendaAll sessions will be in the Baccarat Suite, in theCrystal Ballroom

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Meeting Room Level

Ballroom Level